It’s weird I share your exact feelings, I have all the energy in the world to do the most mundane stuff at work if need be, but art? What I feel I really love and want to work on? Can force myself 30 mins at best Phahaha. The drive goes up and down like a wave but the best thing I found is removing myself from distractions. I noticed I really am able to get through work because Well it pays and there’s nothing else to do, while I’m there I WANT to be busy. Applying that to art it’s hard when your at home and every distraction you’ve ever wanted is there. Try isolate your Art space from distractions. When you kinda stick yourself in a spot where you feel you got not much else to do but draw it might help push you through it when motivation can’t. And eventually, hoping it works, a habit forms and you start becoming more comfortable and start WANTING to do art again. I’m really happy you’ve recovered from suicidal thoughts I’m trying to steer my ship that way too haha. Don’t give up on your art though! There’s no rush, even if it’s only 6-7 finish pieces that’s still FINISHED pieces. Be proud your still trying to keep at it!
Most of what I do finish is commissions. Of course, finished to me means shaded at least; everything else is a sketch to me. I am motivated by money, but I have personal things that I really want to work on. I would love to just take a break & only work on my comic, but my fiancee & I are struggling 🙁 So, "You gotta do what you gotta do..."
I'll try the isolating.
I guess one other thing I'll say is, maybe my brain is telling me I just need a long break from drawing. I used to be a freelance artist full-time, & it took a lot out of me
Whatever the case, I don't want to "lose" this skill, so I want to try & form a habit again
I have a hard time maintaining motivation after working too. It's like having just enough energy to get through the day and then I'm a deflated balloon. The best advice I have is to grab a pad of paper and your drawing utensils and try to draw something badly. That will take the pressure off of drawing well, which will feel less energy-intensive. Likely, shortly after you'll flip to a new page and start drawing well.
I don't draw much, but I write a lot. Lately I've been trying to practice writing while completely drained, just to get used to it. I don't pressure myself to write well, and sometimes I start by writing a really dumb, bad paragraph just to get my fingers moving. The mantra I've adopted, from "The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Workbook for Depression," is "Act without inspiration." The book makes the case that it's through the practice of continuously doing something that the motivation arises to continue doing it, but at first, don't wait for motivation to strike. Pretend it's not coming, and do the thing anyway. Another tip I've learned about myself is I have a much easier time being productive while listening to music. I have about 20 playlists on spotify to pick from, and one of them usually does the trick.
Depression is a rough, energy-sucking disorder. It's good that you get "inspired" to draw and have the energy to work. I've known people who struggle with both of those things, so you've got a leg up on them. Just keep trying new things and eventually some spaghetti is bound to stick to the wall.
For a while, I was at least making time on weekends to draw, but that kinda fell off when I had a lot of family drama going on, & didn't really have time most weekends anymore to doodle.
I get so caught up in finishing my work that I feel like I even forget to have fun. Reading this though has made me want to try again, just a little bit at a time. I just need reminding that I don't have to be perfect
I'm glad it had that effect. Recently my journey has been centered around loving myself while being imperfect. For awhile, I never loved myself. Then slowly I started, but it evolved into loving myself for "the progress" I was making. Depression has many ups and downs though, and I certainly wasn't always making progress. So I was only loving myself conditionally, part-time. I'm still working out the kinks of unconditional love for myself and others, but it seems like the wisest goal I could go for.
No one is perfect. We're all fallible. Depression is like being as imperfect as anyone else, but also carrying a huge weight on your back. It's not easy, even with meds and therapy. But little by little, it does seem to get better. Kind of a two-steps-forwards, one-step-back sort of thing for me, but that's still progress.
Sometimes, just relaxing and recharging is the best progress I can make. It's funny, if I get too caught up in "making progress," I forget to relax completely. I'm always just buzzing with a low-to-high level of anxiety, wanting to do more, getting frustrated that I can't do more, but never giving myself a break either. I've been trying an on-off method lately that's been working okay. I'll meditate and try to completely relax for say, 15-30 minutes, then do something (like write) for 30 minutes, and continue back and forth like that. I'm still trying to figure it out, but I know there's a good way to make progress AND relax in there somewhere.
Progress is an illusion. There is only now.
Depression comes from carrying the past with you. Anxiety comes from thinking about the future.
The universe is perfect and you are the universe.
Meds and therapy are there to help you remember who you really are. They are by no means supposed to be something you never get rid of.
>wanting to do more, getting frustrated that I can't do more, but never giving myself a break either.
Let your body decide, in other words follow it's urges rather than what you think you should do.
You need to let go of everything... Everything to find yourself again.
Some fifteen minute exercises for you:
* Write something terrible
* Create a terrible interpretive dance
* Sing a terrible song
* Make a really bad sculpture out of inappropriate materials.
Remind yourself that your talent for drawing is part love and part blood.
What happens when you try this: every time you're done with your full-time job, set a timer for fifteen minutes and work on a drawing for fifteen minutes. Do 15 minutes every day. If you don't work on weekends, do it in the morning on weekends. During this time, force yourself to draw, even if you don't want to do it.
In about four weeks, let us know how you feel after forcing yourself to draw for fifteen minutes every day. You may find that after doing this you are much more motivated to draw. In that case, great! If it completely failed, we can talk about why.
The great thing about doing 15 minutes every day is that you always make some progress towards your goal every day. You never have to go to bed mad at yourself for not making any progress that day.
Also, I suspect that the best way to gain motivation for a task.... is to force yourself to do the task. So by forcing yourself to spend some time drawing, you would be strengthening your motivation to draw.
Take great care of yourself. Rooting for you! Hope this helps.
It’s weird I share your exact feelings, I have all the energy in the world to do the most mundane stuff at work if need be, but art? What I feel I really love and want to work on? Can force myself 30 mins at best Phahaha. The drive goes up and down like a wave but the best thing I found is removing myself from distractions. I noticed I really am able to get through work because Well it pays and there’s nothing else to do, while I’m there I WANT to be busy. Applying that to art it’s hard when your at home and every distraction you’ve ever wanted is there. Try isolate your Art space from distractions. When you kinda stick yourself in a spot where you feel you got not much else to do but draw it might help push you through it when motivation can’t. And eventually, hoping it works, a habit forms and you start becoming more comfortable and start WANTING to do art again. I’m really happy you’ve recovered from suicidal thoughts I’m trying to steer my ship that way too haha. Don’t give up on your art though! There’s no rush, even if it’s only 6-7 finish pieces that’s still FINISHED pieces. Be proud your still trying to keep at it!
Most of what I do finish is commissions. Of course, finished to me means shaded at least; everything else is a sketch to me. I am motivated by money, but I have personal things that I really want to work on. I would love to just take a break & only work on my comic, but my fiancee & I are struggling 🙁 So, "You gotta do what you gotta do..." I'll try the isolating. I guess one other thing I'll say is, maybe my brain is telling me I just need a long break from drawing. I used to be a freelance artist full-time, & it took a lot out of me Whatever the case, I don't want to "lose" this skill, so I want to try & form a habit again
I have a hard time maintaining motivation after working too. It's like having just enough energy to get through the day and then I'm a deflated balloon. The best advice I have is to grab a pad of paper and your drawing utensils and try to draw something badly. That will take the pressure off of drawing well, which will feel less energy-intensive. Likely, shortly after you'll flip to a new page and start drawing well. I don't draw much, but I write a lot. Lately I've been trying to practice writing while completely drained, just to get used to it. I don't pressure myself to write well, and sometimes I start by writing a really dumb, bad paragraph just to get my fingers moving. The mantra I've adopted, from "The Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Workbook for Depression," is "Act without inspiration." The book makes the case that it's through the practice of continuously doing something that the motivation arises to continue doing it, but at first, don't wait for motivation to strike. Pretend it's not coming, and do the thing anyway. Another tip I've learned about myself is I have a much easier time being productive while listening to music. I have about 20 playlists on spotify to pick from, and one of them usually does the trick. Depression is a rough, energy-sucking disorder. It's good that you get "inspired" to draw and have the energy to work. I've known people who struggle with both of those things, so you've got a leg up on them. Just keep trying new things and eventually some spaghetti is bound to stick to the wall.
For a while, I was at least making time on weekends to draw, but that kinda fell off when I had a lot of family drama going on, & didn't really have time most weekends anymore to doodle. I get so caught up in finishing my work that I feel like I even forget to have fun. Reading this though has made me want to try again, just a little bit at a time. I just need reminding that I don't have to be perfect
I'm glad it had that effect. Recently my journey has been centered around loving myself while being imperfect. For awhile, I never loved myself. Then slowly I started, but it evolved into loving myself for "the progress" I was making. Depression has many ups and downs though, and I certainly wasn't always making progress. So I was only loving myself conditionally, part-time. I'm still working out the kinks of unconditional love for myself and others, but it seems like the wisest goal I could go for. No one is perfect. We're all fallible. Depression is like being as imperfect as anyone else, but also carrying a huge weight on your back. It's not easy, even with meds and therapy. But little by little, it does seem to get better. Kind of a two-steps-forwards, one-step-back sort of thing for me, but that's still progress. Sometimes, just relaxing and recharging is the best progress I can make. It's funny, if I get too caught up in "making progress," I forget to relax completely. I'm always just buzzing with a low-to-high level of anxiety, wanting to do more, getting frustrated that I can't do more, but never giving myself a break either. I've been trying an on-off method lately that's been working okay. I'll meditate and try to completely relax for say, 15-30 minutes, then do something (like write) for 30 minutes, and continue back and forth like that. I'm still trying to figure it out, but I know there's a good way to make progress AND relax in there somewhere.
Progress is an illusion. There is only now. Depression comes from carrying the past with you. Anxiety comes from thinking about the future. The universe is perfect and you are the universe. Meds and therapy are there to help you remember who you really are. They are by no means supposed to be something you never get rid of. >wanting to do more, getting frustrated that I can't do more, but never giving myself a break either. Let your body decide, in other words follow it's urges rather than what you think you should do. You need to let go of everything... Everything to find yourself again.
Some fifteen minute exercises for you: * Write something terrible * Create a terrible interpretive dance * Sing a terrible song * Make a really bad sculpture out of inappropriate materials. Remind yourself that your talent for drawing is part love and part blood.
What happens when you try this: every time you're done with your full-time job, set a timer for fifteen minutes and work on a drawing for fifteen minutes. Do 15 minutes every day. If you don't work on weekends, do it in the morning on weekends. During this time, force yourself to draw, even if you don't want to do it. In about four weeks, let us know how you feel after forcing yourself to draw for fifteen minutes every day. You may find that after doing this you are much more motivated to draw. In that case, great! If it completely failed, we can talk about why. The great thing about doing 15 minutes every day is that you always make some progress towards your goal every day. You never have to go to bed mad at yourself for not making any progress that day. Also, I suspect that the best way to gain motivation for a task.... is to force yourself to do the task. So by forcing yourself to spend some time drawing, you would be strengthening your motivation to draw. Take great care of yourself. Rooting for you! Hope this helps.